Le Morte de Raimundo
by Authoress of Evil
Summary: He looked down at the dangerous waters, then up at his friends' terrified faces. He felt his hand begin to slip. "I'm sorry guys," he said, and then he fell. They lost sight him as he was pulled under the waves. "My Lord," Clay whispered, "He's gone." On indefinite hiatus. I'm willing to share what happens next, if anyone wants to hear it, though. Not sure if I could write it.
1. The Mystery Wu

**Chapter 1: The Mystery Wu **

_Summary of Story: Dojo and the other Xiaolin warriors go after another Wu, but they don't know what it is. They meet Jack there, and, as usual, he sends his Jackbot army out after them. It seems like just another mission, except for when the worst happens. Now, the Xiaolin monks, minus one, have to defeat Wuya and Jac_

_A/N: Takes place sometime in season two, long before Raimundo becomes team leader, or Wuya regains her body. She is working with Chase at the moment, and Jack is still bitter. This story has its fluffy moments, it has its abstract-weirdo moments, and it has its angst ridden, tear jerker moments. There is some slight RaiKim stuff going on, but it could just be viewed as friends. I'll reveal the translation of the title in a chapter or two, but an imaginary coupon to whatever imaginary thing you want (other than an imagination) if you can guess... in a review... which I absolutely adore._

_Also, if you don't think I capture the way the characters act or talk, can you tell me? I'm trying to keep it as IC as I can._

* * *

"Guys! I feel another shen gong wu coming!" Dojo alerted the dragons-in-training as they relaxed for a rare moment.

"Again?" Raimundo groaned. "Didn't we just grab one, like, yesterday?"

Ignoring Raimundo's statement, Dojo continued, "Funny, I don't remember feeling like this about one before. I mean, I've had vertigo, allergies, the shakes, rashes, random aches and pains, and, rarely, no symptoms at all, but this… this is different."

"What do you mean, Dojo?" Kimiko asked with concern. "Do you think something's wrong?"

"I – uh," he hesitated, "Nah, it's been so long, I probably just forgot about it. Come on, let's go!" he finished, growing even as he spoke.

"Which one is it?" Clay asked as he climbed on.

Dojo scratched his head. "I'm, uh, not sure. That's the weirdest part of it. I couldn't find it on the scroll. There was nothing!"

"Well, unless I am most mistaken, due to the scroll's overwhelming percentage of correct identifications, it is highly probable that it may be inaccurate once or twice," Omi replied.

"Yeah, gotcha," Rai replied sarcastically. "Well, looks like we'll just have to wing it."

Before long, they'd reached their destination, a cliff overlooking a treacherous, fast, rocky stream.

"_Woo, doggie!" _Clay exclaimed looking down. "I'd sure hate to fall down there!"

"Ain't that the truth!" Raimundo agreed. "So, Dojo, any pearls of wisdom as to where you and Grand Master Dashi stashed our mysterious little shen-gong-wu?"

"Well," Dojo began, chuckling nervously, "about that…"

"Dojo, what is it?" Kimiko asked.

Trying not to make eye contact with any of the dragons in training, Dojo confessed, "I sorta, well, lost it…"

"Define 'lost it'," Raimundo growled.

"Well, you see – funny story – I sort of lost my signal. I can't track the Wu. I don't know why not, but I can't sense it!"

"BUT I DO!!!" a new voice called. None other than Jack Spicer flew down, laughing his signature evil laugh.

"Jack!" Kimiko yelled. "What have you done with the Wu?"

The evil boy genius laughed again and said, "I'll tell you later, but first – JACKBOTS!! ATTACK!"

Suddenly, Jackbots started to flood towards them, from every direction.

The battle raged on as usual. The four were quickly cornered next to the cliff's edge. All around them were Jackbots. The only clear path was off the cliff and into the treacherous waters. So, they fought.


	2. Signs

**Chapter 2: Signs**

_**A/N:** Now, a few points of interest I want to bring up. You don't really have to read it, but I'd appreciate it._

_Sorry for the short first chapter. It just set the stage for the rest of the story._

_Also, everyone who reviewed gets imaginary coupons to any imaginary thing other than an imagination. The title does indeed mean The Death of Raimundo. It is inspired by Le Morte de Arthur, which is a book about the death of Arthur Pendragon, King of Camelot. Other than that, no similarities are intended._

_This chapter is set up kind of strangely. It is divided into 4 parts that describe a different sign that leads to three of the main characters getting concerned about the other's whereabouts. I'm not exactly sure why it turned out that way, but that's the way it came out._

_Last point of interest - I was originally going to do something really quirky with the Mystery Wu deal, but I decided that it was too malicious for Jack to do. I mean, he's bad, but he isn't really evil. He wouldn't do anything like what I came up with. So, I'll just reveal which Wu it was in the next chapter, and have Dojo chalk it up to a bad day... unless you want the weird, practically impossible version... Either way, I'll probably write both versions. Also, on my profile is a pretty important poll. There's two ways this story could go. One would increase the RaiKim element, the other would increase the RAIMUNDO IS SO WONDERFUL!!!! element. Go and vote, it'll help me a lot! But, after your votes influence my decision, there will be a two word deletion to this chapter. (It's not really that big of a deal, it doesn't change much of anything. I'll edit it just before I post the next chapter.)_

_Now onto the story!!!_

**But, first, A Little Refresher: (I'll add one of these to each chapter - it's just a quick sum-up of the events of so far, for those of you who forgot them)**

_Dojo felt a shen-gong-wu activating, but he couldn't remember ever having the symptoms caused. The scroll wasn't working right, and they couldn't find it. They went anyway, and found themselves right next to a cliff overlooking a really dangerous river with some really pointy rocks at the bottom. Jack appears and they get cornered by the cliffs by hundreds of Jackbots._

* * *

_**The 1st sign that something was wrong was when Omi butchered another line.**_

"Look!" Omi exclaimed, fighting off five at once, "They are exploding inside of the woodwork!"

As usual, Kimiko sighed, Clay rolled his eyes, and Omi waited for Raimundo to either correct him or come up with a smart crack about him finally getting one right.

After a minute with no reply, Omi repeated what he said, "Raimundo, did you not hear what I said? Am I actually correct in this statement for once? Raimundo?"

Still no response. Omi shrugged it off and soon forgot about it as he fought.

_**The 2nd sign that something was wrong was when Jack made a fool of himself.**_

Watching the battle, Jack hovered in the air, laughing his head off. His evil trick was working perfectly. _Wuya would be proud, _he thought before he could stop himself. _But instead, she's all over that awesomely evil, but totally snobbish jerk, Chase Young._

He stopped paying attention and instead, decided to sulk and mutter to himself about Wuya's fickle ways. He even went so far as to turn his back to the whole thing. It was too perfect, and the Xiaolin warriors knew it. They knew that eventually, one of them would crack, and pull a prank.

Everyone just assumed it would be Raimundo. Rai never misses the chance to make someone look like an idiot. _Never_. And, seeing as this was Jack Spicer, they figured he'd be on it like a mouse on cheese, so they didn't do anything about it, but they kept an eye peeled – for when it happened.

There was only one problem – it didn't. So, Clay decided to throw a robot at Jack, which sent him tumbling through the air, screaming for his mommy… until he hit a tree.

After he stopped laughing, Clay waited for Raimundo to chew him out about stealing his job… but it never happened.

Clay guessed that Raimundo was just too busy kicking butt, and let it go.

**_The 3__rd__ sign that something was wrong was when Kimiko couldn't find him._**

Finally, the Jackbot army was starting to thin out. From her position, she could see all of the remaining bots, along with all of her teammates. Except one.

She got an odd feeling in the pit of her stomach as she glanced at the robotic parts and the wreckage. She finished her opponent with the Star Hanabi and looked around once more. No sign of Raimundo.

"Clay!" she yelled over to him as another robot attacked her. "You seen Rai anywhere?"

"Now that I think of it – THIRD ARM SASH, EARTH – no, I haven't," he replied, smashing his attacker to bits. "You know when I threw that robot at Jack?"

"Yeah?"

"Well, I was expectin' him to be on me like white on rice, but he didn't say nothing!"

Kimiko raised her eyebrow as she wiped her assailant off the map. "That's not like him.."

"No, it ain't," Clay agreed, walking up to her. There was only one Jackbot left, and Jack himself had fled the scene when Clay chucked the robot at him. Presumably, he took the shen-gong-wu with him.

"Let's ask Omi, he'll probably know what's up," Kimiko suggested, then added. "Rai's probably just after Jack or with Dojo."

"Hey, Omi," Clay asked, walking up to him as he froze his final opponent with the Orb or Tornami. "You seen Raimundo in a while?"

Omi looked around and scratched his head. "No, as a matter of fact, I have not heard his constant prodding fun remarks since before the battle!"

**_The 4__th__ sign that something was wrong was when they noticed an oddly placed shoe._**

"Dude, it's_ poking_ fun_,"_ said a small, weak voice_._

"Rai?" Kimiko called. "Where are you?" She looked around for the source of his voice. Suddenly, her eyes fell upon one of the rubble piles. Just poking out of the bottom of it was a sneaker.

"Rai!" she shrieked, and started frantically throwing the rubble off of him. With Omi and Clay's help, they hauled him out of the debris.

"Thanks guys," he mumbled.

"What happened to you, partner?" Clay asked. "You look like you been rode hard and put up wet!"

"I don't know what that means, but I'll tell you what happened," Raimundo commented, grunting as he tried, and failed, to put weight on his leg, which appeared to be broken. "It was pretty embarrassing. Near the start of the battle, I used the Tongue of Saiping to call a bunch of squirrels to smoke a bunch of those weirdos, but it kinda backfired. I think I might've insulted them and they… erm… attacked me. They somehow managed to knock me out and bury me under the rubble."

Clay and Kimiko burst out laughing, causing Raimundo to turn beet red. Omi, however, remained quite calm.

"Well, Raimundo," he commented. "It isn't that embarrassing."

Rai raised his eyebrow. "Really? You're the last person I'd expect to hear that from!"

"Oh, no!" Omi laughed. "You misinterpreted my meaning! I merely meant that it is not as embarrassing because it is to be expected of one who reached apprentice level so late. For someone such as myself to do it – that would be most embarrassing. But, as we all know, I am better than those amateur mistakes," he boasted, head growing with each word.

"You're just lucky my leg's hurt," Rai muttered darkly.

Omi and Kimiko started off towards Dojo, Clay, who was supporting Raimundo, followed after. It seemed that things had finally calmed down.

Raimundo suddenly got a funny feeling. He looked over his shoulder and gasped. He pushed Kimiko and Omi out of the way and tackled the Jackbot that tried to sneak up on them. They both tumbled over the edge.

"RAI!" Kimiko yelled.


	3. The Plunge

**Chapter 3: The Plunge**

**A/N:** Hey, does anyone know any really good, unique, Clay-worthy Southern phrases. I googled most of them, and the ice-breaker I made up myself... you see why they laugh? I need a good resource that I could email and get a good one within a day or two. Or, a good website. Help!

There is a small spoiler in this. If you haven't seen the last episode, or you don't know what happens w/ Rai in the last episode, just skip past it.

The Wu used in the story is a real shen-gong-wu. It's one of the Wu from the trading card set.

And here's the lines from the title. Just edited... a little. I had to expand it considerably from the summary. I mean, that's a good intro, but this is the actual story.

As for the wicked fast, same day update... I wrote it this morning and couldn't resist posting the moment I got any reviews... and then, my mom made me clean my room, and when I'd finished I had two. Then, my mom made me make meatballs, and when I got back, I had three. Then, I begged my mom for a Friendly's Fribble (my signature dessert - been drinking it since I was six, and I'll be drinking it till I'm 66+!). I went on like that for several hours before I finally gave up (stupid, stubborn...) and I finally couldn't take it anymore and I posted it.

Last item: I am a full-on Raimundo fan. He's my favorite character of them all. Therefore, he must either die, turn evil, or go far, far away. Sorry, it holds true for all of my faves. First I watch them die or turn evil or go far, far away on TV or in books, and then I write a fanfiction about it. It's the truth! Check my pro, there's a rant about it!"

**A Little Refresher:** Dojo and the Dragons-in-training go after a mystery shen-gong-wu. They get attacked by swarms of Jackbots, and Jack escapes with the Wu. They lose track of Raimundo, and when they find him, he's injured pretty badly. As they go back to Dojo, a Jackbot tries to attack Kimiko. Raimundo jumps it and they both roll over the edge of the cliff. And here we are...

* * *

"RAI!" Kimiko cried in despair, running to the edge, the others closely tailing her. They reached the edge just in time to see the robot fall with a splash to the water. Rai was clinging desperately to a cleft near the top of the cliff.

"Kim! I can't hold on much longer," he shouted. "There's something I have to tell you!"

"Rai! Hold on, I'll get you! I just have to find the Tangle-Web Comb!" she replied hastily.

"No, Kimiko, this can't wait!" Raimundo insisted, sighing sadly before mumbling something else.

"What was that?" she asked, still checking her backpack for the shen-gong-wu. "I couldn't hear you!"

His eyes met hers, and he yelled, "Since the moment I first saw you, I-" Suddenly, he stopped, and his eyes grew wide.

"You what?" Kimiko urged, halting all search for the comb.

Raimundo didn't respond, he was staring at his hand. "No," he whispered, tears coming to his eyes. "No, no, no! Not now!"

"Rai, what's wrong?" she yelled.

He looked up at his friends' terrified faces, then down at the sloshing water. His hand started to slip. "I'm sorry guys," he breathed. Then, he barely breathed something else, just loud enough for Kimiko to hear, and then he fell.

"RAI!!!" Kimiko screamed. "TANGLEWEB COMB!" she yelled, finally finding her Wu. The ropes shot out, but instead boomeranged back, wrapping up another Jackbot as it tried to attack them from behind, instead.

Raimundo reached his hand towards them, gave a brief smile, and then disappeared into the water.

"NOO!" she cried, burying her head in her hands.

Omi gasped, eyes widening. He shook his head. "No," he breathed. "This just cannot be. Raimundo can't… die. H-he's my friend."

"My Lord," Clay whispered, "He's gone."

"Hey!" Dojo said, walking over the distressed warriors a moment too late. "I figured out which Wu it was. It's the Da Hippa Hoppa. It turns all the user's speech into rhyme, and with Jack that'll be – hey, what's the matter?"

None of them said anything; they just looked down at the sloshing water mournfully.

"Guys, what's wrong?" he repeated. "You look like something awful happened! And… where's Raimundo?"

He looked at all of their faces, then at the water below. "No," he gasped, shaking his head. "He didn't…?"

Omi nodded, blinking back tears. "W-we didn't see the Jackbot."

"He was already hurt," Kimiko added dolefully. "It came at me from behind, but he jumped in front. He went over the edge to save… me. Why would he do that, Dojo? It doesn't make any sense."

Clay didn't say anything. He couldn't. _It's all my fault,_ he thought desolately. _I shouldn't have let him go… I should've saved him. I could've saved him._

Dojo couldn't believe it. "You… you must be mistaken. He- he can't die. He has a destiny. A big one. Just as big as all of you."

**(Spoiler for Last Episode Alert) **

Not long after Raimundo had come back from the Heylin side, Dojo had confronted Master Fung about why, even though the some of the team didn't trust Rai, he still trusted him? That was when Master Fung let Dojo in on a secret. The whole time, right from the moment they started working together, he had known. Master Fung could sense who the true leader was, and it wasn't Omi. It was Raimundo. So, he was just as hard on him as he would be anyone else. If anything, he was harder. Forcing him to endure the teams' insults and cruelty about his mistake would help him learn from it, and eventually, progress so far past it that he'd never forget it.

Dojo thought of that every day afterwards, and, as he paid a closer eye to Raimundo, he saw it too. The way that he'd deal with Omi's constant insults, the way he'd act all cocky about the battles afterward but remain perfectly serious during them. In fact, Dojo couldn't help but be reminded of Dashi whenever Rai pulled a prank or gave Spicer a piece of his mind.

**(Spoiler Ended)**

"Are you sure?" Clay retorted, speaking up for the first time since Rai fell. "After all, unless he became one a those goo zombies, his destiny ended 'bout five minutes ago."

"Clay," Omi warned.

"What?" he growled. "It's true! He fell into the most dangerous river I've seen in a while, from quite a few yards up. If he isn't drowned, then he died just from impact with the water!"

"I really don't think that was necessary," Omi said, recoiling from the images that came to mind.

"He probably didn't even drown! He was probably splattered all over the waterway like bird poop on my daddy's old pick-up!"

"Look, Clay, we really don't need the imagery," Dojo urged, looking worriedly at Kimiko, who seemed dangerously close to tears.

Clay laughed dryly, and shook his head. "Why not? Face it; he's deader than a tulip in a field of cow patties!"

"ENOUGH!" Kimiko shrieked, finally breaking down. Clay finally sobered down and tried to make a move towards her, but Dojo glared at him menacingly and went over to comfort her. "How could this happen?" she asked. "How?"

"I don't know, kid," he said sadly. "I really don't know."

"Erm, I do not mean to interrupt, but wouldn't a tulip in a field of cow manure thrive better than most?" Omi interjected.

That broke the ice. First, Kimiko began to giggle, then Dojo, and finally Clay. After a minute, they were all out laughing, just from the idiocy of the statement and the extreme trauma they had just endured.

"What's so funny?" Omi asked, oblivious to the humor in the timing of his statement. "It's a fact!"

"You got a point, Omi," Clay admitted through booming laughs. "It don't make much sense, does it?"


	4. Coping

**Chapter 4**

_**A/N:**_

Okay, very long a/n needed here. In response to the anonymous reviews, and just the general population of readers, it has been brought to my attention that people are confused about why Rai didn't just fly away and save himself. I had thought of that, and I came up with several simple explanations.

The most obvious is that he doesn't have very advanced wind powers yet – this is only like, mid second season. He's not very far into his apprentice stage yet. I did the research. This story takes place somewhere after "The Year of the Green Monkey." (That marks the time that Wuya abandoned Jack to work with Chase and in the next episode he builds a Wuyabot.) But, keep in mind as you read this that he did have _some_ wind power.

But, that's not the reason I was thinking hardest about. There's a reason I had him get beat up by squirrels, and it wasn't just because it's really funny (although it _is_ hilarious). He was too weak to use his powers, or even cling onto the rock. He broke his leg, which means he couldn't really climb back up. (BTW, he used his good leg to jump the robot. Sure, it hurt like hell, but he saved Kim anyway.)

The final reason that I was focusing on is that, sometimes, in really fast situations, you don't think of these things. For example, I once shut my whole hand in the car door. I panicked and tried to pull it out. Instead, it got really bruised. If I had been thinking logically, I would've instantly known to just open the door, and my hand would've been fine. But, it wasn't until after the damage had been done that I thought of it.

Also, I originally said that there would be _slight _RaiKim. About that, when I was writing the whole death scene… his words sort of just… slipped. Then, when I wrote them, I couldn't _unwrite _them! I mean, it was there! And it fit! It added so much more suspense and drama to it. Plus, I just love the two of them.

As for the SPOILER deal. I know that it's been out of commission for years, but that was more for my real-world best friend. She's new to the whole Xiaolin Showdown deal, and has been watching them on youtube. _She _hasn't seen the last episode yet. Surprisingly, no one in my entire grade level has ever heard of XS. What is wrong with these people?!? But, she isn't quite thirteen yet (I'm almost a year older than her) and she doesn't want to tell a little white lie to get an account, so she won't be reviewing any time soon.

Also, I think I can understand why Omi is being such a… well, excuse my language, an ass. Check my profile for the Omi to my Rai Psychoanalysis to hear the story…

_**Dreams/memories are like this. **Thoughts are like this._

Anyway, the A/N has become longer than the story, so I think I'll just stop now. Except for the refresher, which just sums up what has happened so far in the story.

Refresher: Dojo and the Xiaolin monks go looking for a new Wu. They get swarmed by Jackbots. Raimundo is injured. He jumps a Jackbot and falls over a cliff. He clings onto the cliff's edge for a few more seconds before he plummets to certain doom. The remaining friends are in a state of shock as they recoil from the unexpected loss.

And here we are…

_

* * *

_

His smile, his laugh, his voice…

Kimiko let a tear slip down her cheek as she looked at the picture of her friends from the Xiaolin Temple. She had taken a small break to spend some time away from the temple and with her dad, but she was still plagued by his memory. No matter how far away she went, she'd never be able to take a vacation from him.

She shook her head, trying to rid herself of him, but she couldn't. Especially not after the last words he said to her, the last words he said at all.

_**His eyes met hers, and he yelled, "Since the moment I first saw you, I-"**_

He didn't finish his sentence there, but when he did, her heart positively screamed. They were only five small words, but they held more meaning to each of them than the whole world.

_No, no, no!_ she yelled in her mind as she felt the tears start to well up in her eyes. _No! I can't think of this right now. I can't handle it._

Still, all she saw was his arm reaching out towards them, towards her, as he slipped under the water. All she heard were his words, _**"I'm sorry guys." **__I'm sorry Rai, I should've saved you._

She had the Tangle-Web Comb. She could've saved him. She just didn't try hard enough.

"Kim, you okay?" her best friend, Keiko asked, walking in. Keiko looked from the picture in her hand, to the tear that crept its way steadily down her cheek and came to a simple conclusion.

"Thinking about that Brazilian boy again?" she inquired. Kimiko looked at his face in the picture, a sardonic smile set upon his face, and burst into tears. "I knew it," Keiko sighed, hugging her friend.

"It's all my fault," she breathed, tears cascading from her eyes. "I- I could've stopped him. But I didn't. He's dead because of me."

"Of course not!" Keiko soothed. "You couldn't have done anything. It was just meant to happen. You weren't supposed to save him, or else you would've."

"But I was! He jumped in front of it to save _me!_ And then, what he told me just before he fell. I just- I can't handle this!" she cried, breaking off the hug and crawling into the corner of her bed, cuddling Rai's precious Ninja Fred close.

_**"I'm sorry guys," he whispered.**_

_I'm so sorry Raimundo. So, so sorry._

* * *

Omi sat in his room at the Xiaolin Temple, curled in a little ball. He still couldn't really believe what had happened. It couldn't quite register in his mind. Rai's sudden death had come as a bit of a slap in the face to young Omi, who had never really lost anyone before. He kept expecting Raimundo to just walk through the doors like it was any other day, and nothing had happened.

But it had.

Omi knew that he had been hard on him, but he had a good excuse. Rai had betrayed them all when he went with Wuya, and it hurt. It had hurt him really bad. So, Omi tried to hurt him back. Whenever possible, he brought up his lack of experience. He always put Rai down because Rai had put him down harder.

Now, he regretted it more than anything. Instead of being a good friend to the end, their last words had been a diss.

**_"Well, Raimundo," he commented. "It isn't that embarrassing."_**

**_Rai raised his eyebrow. "Really? You're the last person I'd expect to hear that from!"_**

**_"Oh, no!" Omi laughed. "You misinterpreted my meaning! I merely meant that it is not as embarrassing because it is to be expected of one who reached apprentice level so late. For someone such as myself to do it – that would be most embarrassing. But, as we all know, I am better than those amateur mistakes," he boasted, head growing with each word._**

**_"You're just lucky my leg's hurt," Rai muttered darkly._**

Truth be told, Omi had already done worse. Instead of angering just squirrels, he had found a way to piss off the entire animal kingdom! Fortunately, Master Fung had saved him before any damage had been dealt, but, occasionally, he still caught the odd rabbit glaring at him.

Omi sighed as he thought about the _way_ Raimundo had died. _His element_ had caused his friend's demise. He felt so bitter about that fact. "I could've stopped it,_"_ he said sadly. "I could've used the Orb of Tornami or done _something._"

"Young monk," Master Fung said, interrupting Omi's soliloquy. "If we were meant to fly, God would've given us wings."

Omi's eyes started to well up. "Master Fung, I mean no disrespect, but wouldn't Raimundo _have_ been able to fly if he'd reached Wudai level?"

The wiser man sighed, and sat down next to the young monk. "Omi, what I mean is that, if you were meant to save him, you would have. You have no reason to blame yourself."

"May I confide in you, sir," Omi asked nervously. He needed to talk to someone about his troubles, and Master Fung had always been like a father figure to him.

"Of course, Omi," he replied.

Omi sighed, and admitted, "I should have been a better friend to him. I always gave him so much hardship… I feel as if I could have focused harder on helping him than making him feel bad for his actions."

Surprisingly, Master Fung smiled.

"What is it, sir?" Omi asked curiously.

"Absence makes the heart grow fonder," he replied softly, mostly to himself. Omi raised his eyebrow, but Master Fung didn't elaborate. "Good night, young monk," he said finally, walking out.

* * *

**"_It's all your fault, Clay!" Kimiko screamed. "You shouldn't have let him jump after the Jackbot!"_**

**"_Yes," Omi agreed angrily. "You are most disappointing!"_**

**"_Clay, I am sorry to say that I was mistaken when I said you were to be Dragon of Earth. It is clear that you will never amount to anything," Master Fung admitted. "Pack your bags. You can go be a farmhand at your father's ranch again."_**

**"_What?" Clay exclaimed. "What are you sayin'?"_**

**"_You did this to me, man," a garbled voice said. A soaked, mangled, ghostly version of Raimundo limped over towards him. "I trusted you, and this is how you repay me."_**

**"_I- I didn't-" he started._**

**"_You didn't help me. You could've prevented this. It's your fault!" Rai yelled shrilly._**

**"_NO! _**_NO!_NO!" he screamed, sitting bolt upright in his bed.

Clay was a wreck. He'd been having the same nightmare for three days now. He couldn't let his father see him like this, so, when offered the chance to go home, he turned it down. He felt wholly responsible for what happened, and, no matter how much the others assured him it was not his fault, he still shouldered the blame.

He had suggested they go look for Rai's body, but as their search came closer and closer he started to regret it. He didn't really want to know what they were going to find.

He managed to fall back asleep, but it wasn't long before the morning came. Neither of the two boys looked happy about what was coming, and Dojo looked downright depressed.

"Young monks," Master Fung offered somberly, "You do not have to do this if you don't wish to. I will not force you to."

Omi shook his head. "Sir, we wish to find him. We _should _at least look for any remnant of him."

Clay nodded his agreement.

"Very well. Here are the Gills of Hamachi and the Falcon's Eye to help with your search," Fung said, handing them the shen gong wu. "Just to forewarn you, if you find anything at all, you may not like what you find."

"We know," Clay assured solemnly, and they both climbed on Dojo and flew away.

_To be continued..._


End file.
